William Eugene Scott (Video)

William Eugene Scott was born in Buhl, Idaho, to William Theodore Scott, a traveling Pentecostal preacher, and Inez Leona Graves Scott.

In 1934, when Scott was five, his mother gave birth prematurely to twins, one of whom died shortly after birth. His mother told an interviewer in 1980 that she was visited by angels at this time, stating that she "saw a stairway begin to roll down from heaven and come right down to the side of my bed" and that "two angels walked down, and they stopped in front of Gene.” At this point, his mother claims to have said, "Oh no, Lord, you can't take Gene!" and that the angels "just went around him and picked the baby up." [verification needed]

According to Gene Scott, he excelled in primary and secondary school both academically and athletically. According to a story told by Scott's mother in Werner Herzog's 1980 documentary entitled God's Angry Man, an unnamed seventh grade teacher once attached a note to Gene's report card informing his parents that their son was a genius. In another story often recited by Gene Scott on the air, he says he was a good basketball player and that his father's ultra-conservative congregation disapproved of young Eugene Scott wearing shorts as required by the team because they exposed his bare legs. He played throughout his junior-high and high-school years regardless of the congregation's objection. Gene Scott also began playing alto saxophone during his elementary school years and continued playing his phrases through his high school years.

Gene Scott graduated from Chico State in 1952 with a degree in history and stayed on for a master’s in social science.

In 1953, Scott enrolled in Stanford’s School of Education, where he wrote a Proof of the Resurrection for Professor Alexander “Lex” Miller, an agnostic.

He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophies of Education in 1957. The subject of his 394-page doctoral dissertation was Neo-Orthodox theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

In 1992 he was the featured cover story for the Stanford Alumni Magazine and his obituary was published in the May/June 2005 issue of the same publication.

While Scott held undergraduate degrees in other subjects, he did not have a degree in theology. After receiving his Ph.D., he briefly taught at Evangel College (now Evangel University), then assisted Oral Roberts in establishing Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For many years he was a pastor in the Assemblies of God denomination before establishing his independent Protestant ministry.

Although declaring himself an avowed agnostic while attending Stanford University, after receiving his Ph.D. he briefly taught at Evangel College (now Evangel University), then assisted Oral Roberts in establishing Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Scott eventually joined the pentecostal Assemblies of God denomination and for several years served in a variety of countries as an evangelist.

Although declaring himself an avowed agnostic while attending Stanford University, after receiving his Ph.D. he briefly taught at Evangel College (now Evangel University), then assisted Oral Roberts in establishing Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Scott eventually joined the pentecostal Assemblies of God denomination and for several years served in a variety of countries as an evangelist.

In 1970, Scott resigned his Assemblies of God credentials in good standing and formed Wescott Christian Center with his father who was a pastor in Oroville, California. Later, Dr. Gene Scott assumed control of "Faith Center" in Glendale, California, and brought his father, affectionately known as "Pop Scott" to assist him.

Dr. Gene Scott maintained ownership of his home town church in Oroville, Westcott Christian Center , which holds the title to the Los Angeles University Cathedral, his Pasadena mansion at 2 Oak Knoll, and numerous collections and other assets.

Scott was voted vice president of the fledgling "Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches and Ministers International", of which his father was a member, and later served as its president from October 1975 to July 1984.

An interviewed spokesperson for the Full Gospel Fellowship claimed the departure was to protect the fellowship from embarrassment due to the unconventional antics and flamboyant lifestyle which became Scott’s trademarks after he took control of "Faith Center" and its broadcast outlets.[verification needed]

In 1975, while serving his Oroville ministry, Dr. Scott was approached to serve as a financial consultant for the forty-five-year-old "Faith Center" church in Glendale, California, by its then pastor and founder, religious broadcast pioneer Ray Schoch.

Faith Center owned four broadcast stations, which included KHOF-TV channel 30 in San Bernardino, California, KHOF-FM 99.5 in Los Angeles, California, KVOF-TV channel 38 in San Francisco, California, and WHCT channel 18 in Hartford, Connecticut. Faith Center was in crisis, both financial and in regards to its leadership, because Schoch had suffered severe cardiac problems and was no longer able to lead.

Desperate and in good faith, the congregation of Faith Center unanimously elected Dr. Scott as its new pastor. A unanimous election was a requirement set by Scott before he would agree to take over leadership of Faith Center . In addition, Scott was given complete control of all operations under the control of Faith Center . Upon bringing the center out of the red, he took permanent control of Faith Center by dissolving its polity and merging its assets into his private corporations.

In 1985, Dr. Scott attempted to purchase the former Church of the Open Door building which was slated for demolition. After losing millions of church dollars in an unsuccessful attempt to acquire the building inclduing having the building declared a historical monument, the Church of the Open Door was demolished. The historic red neon "Jesus Saves" signs which had formerly adorned the roof of the Church of the Open Door and which had become a very familiar sight to Los Angeles area residents over the years[1] are now mounted atop the Los Angeles University Cathedral due to disputes over rights to placing them on the tower roof and possibly due to liability in resurrecting the old fragile signs.

In 1990, Dr. Scott and his congregation moved their Sunday service to the former United Artists flagship theater (which was built by Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas Fairbanks in 1927) in downtown Los Angeles. The theater was renamed the "Los Angeles University Cathedral”. Dr. Gene Scott, Inc. acquired full ownership of the cathedral in December 2002.

Scott's restoration of the theater signaled the beginning of an attempted revitalization of the former theatre district along Broadway. The Spanish Gothic style (patterned after a cathedral in Segovia, Spain) University Cathedral became the largest non-denominational protestant church in downtown Los Angeles. Both the Cathedral and the world-famous "Jesus Saves" signs are designated historic monuments.

Over 100,000 people are claimed to have viewed the church exhibition of the "Dr. Gene Scott Bible Collection" with its many historic Bibles, books, and manuscripts which is housed at the Los Angeles University Cathedral.

In 1975, Scott began a series of broadcasts, which resulted in the creation of the University Network. By 1983, the University Network was broadcasting his sermons twenty-four hours a day via satellite to the United States and Canada, as well as to much of Mexico and the Caribbean. By 1990, his network was available to 180 countries, and by 1992 his sermons were being broadcasted in several languages on AM, FM, and short wave radio. His programming consisted of his trademark informal style of Bible teaching mixed with provocative commentary, music, and personal interests in such diverse subjects as his philately, his paintings, scientific interpretations of the great wonders of the world, and his American Saddle bred horses.

Drawing from nearly thirty years of recorded programming, Scott's radio, satellite and television ministry continues to be broadcast although on different stations and at different times. His website remains operational, though it was not updated to mention Scott's death until the first week of November 2006.

Scott's broadcasts, which, despite his passing continue to be broadcast 24/7 via an Internet Stream, fall into two distinct categories. The first category is the broadcast of the traditional Sunday service in a format familiar to Protestant Christianity. The second category is a broadcast of what Scott named the Festival of Faith. The Festival of Faith was a very informal, non-traditional broadcast which featured Scott sitting alone in a chair, often smoking a cigar or a pipe, telling jokes, interacting with the crew and volunteer phone operators (known as Voices of Faith), berating his staff and/or his congregation, and making remarks that were often considered to be quite off-color by many listeners. He often spiced up his speech with what many would consider profanity, although all his remarks were within FCC guidelines if not always within the guidelines of good taste. He also was well known for constantly engaging in the nervous habit of cleaning out his nose with a handkerchief while on camera (both during Sunday services and during the Festival of Faith). These Festival of Faith broadcasts also featured Scott reading from books on UFOs, Demonology, The Great Pyramid of Giza, and similar viewer-grabbing topics. He quite often called out, "Am I boring you?" to which his staff and the volunteers responded, "No sir!” He frequently exhorted his viewers to "Get on the phone!" to make a monetary pledge or to encourage him to keep reading.

Werner Herzog made a film documentary about Dr. Scott in 1980 entitled God's Angry Man.

Originally diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, Gene Scott declined conventional medical treatment and instead relied on faith in God to heal him. While boldly and proudly claiming that he had been completely healed, the cancer continued to spread and over the next four years the cancer spread unchecked to all the major systems of the body. A few days prior to his death, he experienced a cancer-related stroke and entered in to a coma. While in this comatose state in Glendale Adventist Hospital, Dr. William Eugene Scott suffered a fatal stroke and was pronounced dead at 4:30 P.M. PST on Monday, February 21, 2005.